Shloka 256

Devanagari script

भूतमेवाध्यवस्यन्तो न सम प्रव्याहरन्‌ भयात्‌ । उन्होंने उस अलौकिक पराक्रमी पुरुषको धृष्टद्युम्नपर प्रहार करते देख उसे कोई भूत ही समझा; इसीलिये भयके मारे वे कुछ बोल न सके

Transliteration

bhūtam evādhyavasyanto na sama pravyāharan bhayāt |

Translation

ಧೃಷ್ಟದ್ಯುಮ್ನನ ಮೇಲೆ ಪ್ರಹಾರ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ಆ ಅಲೌಕಿಕ ಪರಾಕ್ರಮಿಯನ್ನ देखकर ಅವರು ಅವನನ್ನು ಭೂತವೆಂದೇ ನಿಶ್ಚಯಿಸಿದರು; ಆದ್ದರಿಂದ ಭಯದಿಂದ ಅವರು ಒಂದು ಸಮರ್ಪಕ ಮಾತನ್ನೂ ಉಚ್ಚರಿಸಲಾರದೆ ಹೋದರು.

Word by Word

भूतम्a ghost/spirit; a being

एवindeed/only

अध्यवस्यन्तःconcluding/deciding (thinking)

नnot

समम्evenly; properly; at all (in this context)

प्रव्याहरन्they uttered/spoke

भयात्from fear; out of fear

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Dhṛṣṭadyumna

the 'otherworldly mighty man' (implied attacker in context)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Extreme violence and terror distort perception: the witnesses, overwhelmed by fear, misidentify a human assailant as a supernatural being and lose the capacity for speech. The verse highlights how adharma-driven slaughter produces confusion, panic, and moral disorientation.

What is happening in the narrative?

During the night attack described in the Sauptika Parva, the onlookers see the powerful attacker strike Dhṛṣṭadyumna. Terrified, they conclude the attacker must be a bhūta (spirit) and are unable to speak coherently.